Familiar foes to square off in Class A North regional finalsMessalonskee girls prep for Nokomis, while Messalonskee and Oceanside boys renew rivalry.

... The Eagles thrashed the Warriors in the regular season, 74-37 on Jan. 31.

Still, Eagles coach Keith Derosby expects a closer game Friday.

“We went up there and had a really good game,” he said. “This is going to be closer. Their starting five is as good as anybody. They have kids who can shoot and they have good team speed. It’s a tough matchup for us.”

Nokomis coach Michelle Paradis said the strategy Friday is simple: Slow the pace of the game.

“We have to,” she said. “We need to slow this thing down, walking the ball up the floor. They won’t shoot poorly. They shoot good all the time so we have to slow this thing down. We don’t do well in track meet situations anyway. We have to control the pace of this game.”

... Senior guard Sophie Holmes led a balanced Messalonskee attack with 17 points and eight rebounds and was given the Bob Whytock Award presented to the outstanding-player sportsman of the girls tournament.

Turner also dished out nine assists while choreographing much of the Eagles’ offense.

“Her ability to control the pace is unreal,” Derosby said. “We knew they were going to throw a zone at us to slow her down. I would, just to create havoc, but she never panicked, she just settled in. She understands that extra pass, and she has amazing court vision.”

... In the first half, it was all Messalonskee. The Eagles made eight of their first 10 shots from the field, 11 of their first 16 and 15 of 28 by halftime, burying the Warriors 36-7 with transition baskets, points down low and precise shooting.

“You know you have to show up for the big games, and we did,” said junior guard Ally Turner, who scored 13 points. “We passed it well, we shot well, we played amazing defense. That’s what was most important for us, locking them down on defense and shutting them down, which generates for us on offense.”

That defense was as impressive as the offense, challenging shots, picking off passes and wrestling away steals to hold Nokomis to three first-half field goals and seven points.

Brunswick stuns Greely, wins first regional titleMadeline Suhr scores 22 points to lead the Dragons to the Class A South championship.

Wow. Just, wow.

Down 14 points early in the third period, Brunswick High dug in defensively and rode the all-around brilliance of Madeline Suhr to a stunning 54-51 upset of top-ranked Greely in the Class A South girls’ basketball championship game Saturday night at Cross Insurance Arena.

Suhr scored 22 points, hitting all eight of her shots – including five 3-pointers – and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the second-ranked Dragons to their first state-final appearance.

Brunswick girls rally to knock off No. 1 Greely, 54-51, for first regional title

... “They are amazing kids,” said Brunswick coach Sam Farrell. “The defense picked it up and we made some big shots. Madeline (Suhr) was awesome. Brooke Barter had a heck of a fourth quarter. They just play so well together.”

“We came back on defense, and that turned into offensive points,” said Suhr, who was named the Class A South Regional MVP. “Our press break was a lot stronger, and that is a game-changer.”

“Brunswick made some shots,” said Greely coach Todd Flaherty after his Rangers finished 19-2. “We had them going a little bit faster than (Brunswick) wanted to go. They just kept making shots and we didn’t. We didn’t capitalize on things we were doing defensively.”

46 is indeed true.... The game was back and fourth, and with some of the best ball handlers in the state on each team they took a lot of drives to the basket and made many crazy passes. But if that's what it takes to win, then I guess you should do what you have to!